“Nigeria is taking ownership of its power deficit and is taking charge of its energy future” says Future Energy Nigeria’s business development director Ade Yesufu.
Yesufu who made this statement in respect of
the 12-13 November 2019 Future Energy conference in Lagos added that, “and the new initiatives by the Government
present unlimited opportunities for stakeholders across the entire power sector
value chain, including metering, billing and revenue collection, technology and
service providers, financiers, manufacturers and suppliers across the sector. Nigeria
is positioning itself as an investment destination for the power sector. We’re
excited.”
The conference and exhibition in Lagos in
November presents solutions for the power sector and connects power and energy
professionals working together to advance a sustainable energy economy.
Looking to innovation solutions
“With the highest GDP in Africa and still growing at an impressive rate” explains Mr Yesufu, ”businesses
across Nigeria are looking to innovative solutions to create their own stable
and viable power solutions. Investments in mini grids contribute towards rural
electrification and the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) initiative was introduced by
the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) to address the end-user
metering gap with regards to financing, procurement, installation,
servicing/maintenance and replacement of metering equipment.
He adds: “Future Energy Nigeria will
focus on bridging the country’s energy access gap, the role of off-grid
generation projects as well as discuss the NERC initiative to franchise the Electricity
Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria. The goal is to increase
competitiveness in the market and improve the quality of electricity supply
through investment in metering, billing, collection and network rehabilitation
and expansion.”
The 16th edition of this longstanding, leading
conference and exhibition will take place at the Eko Hotel in Lagos from 12-13
November 2019.
Conference session highlights at Future Energy Nigeria include:
- Opening
Session: “Bridging Nigeria’s energy access gap”
This session will shine a light on the off-grid projects of the Rural Electrification Authority; from increasing access rates to their positive impact in the communities.
- Recapitalisation
of DisCos?
– Can the recapitalisation theory work in practice?
– Panel discussion: What will recapitalisation achieve for the Nigeria power industry?
- Next
steps: Understanding sub-franchising of DisCos’ operations
– Presentation: Where are the private sector opportunities in the distribution franchising business model?
– Country case study: How will a concessional agreement in Ghana realise increased revenue collection? What can Nigeria learn from the agreement?
– Panel discussion: Franchising arrangements in the areas of supply, metering, billing and collection
Solar off-grid and IPU training
Future Energy Nigeria’s free and very practical Knowledge Hub sessions at on the
exhibition floor aim to assist power professionals and senior engineering
students to become familiar with the latest technology and current trends and
thereby addressing the skills gap and advancing capacity building to propel
Nigeria’s power sector. The training will provide a platform to accelerate
entrepreneurial spirit in off-grid solar where participants can roll up their
sleeves and get stuck in the “A-Z of installing solar panels”.
The Knowledge Hub will also focus on the challenges of industrial power users,
including discussions on solutions for mitigating against increased costs of
electricity and intermittent power.
Leading industry partners and suppliers Jubaili
Bros and Greenville LNG are early confirmed, returning gold and silver sponsors
respectively. The exhibition is expected to feature some 70+ leading global and local
technology and services providers for the power and energy industry, including
country pavilions from South Africa and India.
Thermal power plant site visit
This year’s Future Energy Nigeria offers the unique opportunity again to go behind the
scenes at a thermal power plant as part of a technical site visit tour at the
Egbin Power Plant. An affiliate of the indigenous energy conglomerate, the
Sahara Group, the company operates one of the largest thermal power plants in
sub-Saharan Africa and contributes over 10% of the total electricity generated
to the Nigerian National Grid. This makes it the heartbeat of power and the
largest provider of electricity to Africa’s largest economy.
Utility CEO Forum: West Africa
During Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forum: West Africa will also
gather the region’s power leaders, including DisCos, GenCos and IPPs, for
closed meetings that are by invitation only and facilitated under Chatham House
Rules, to collaborate and focus on unique in-country challenges.
Future Energy Nigeria is organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning
Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the
infrastructure, energy and mining sectors.